Meet the CEO |
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“ The level of uncertainty is something quite foreign to exhibition company staff and has been tough for many . They are used to working in a very structured way , following a routine and that ’ s simply not the reality at the moment .”
almost freaking out with this . They just cannot cope with the fact that you have no planning horizon or planning security .” He explains the company has tried to put in place support mechanisms for those team members suffering a variety of personal challenges . This has been doubly complicated , as for companies around the world , by the challenges of
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massively expanded home-working . As with all organisers , Messe Düsseldorf has had to turn to digital alternatives to support its clients this year . In the past , Diener says , “ we tried what we could do in a digital way to supplement our core business , our main service , which is the physical trade show .” But , over the last year , “ we had to learn in a very quick way how we can speed up our digital development . And there is no question we would not have done this as quickly without a pandemic .”
There have been some interesting dividends from the necessity of moving quickly . For one show , Diener notes , “ we had 14 weeks or so left to introduce the digital format in the market , which we did . But it was a massive undertaking and also a good experience because we had no choice but forming entirely new teams across different departments and across different disciplines . It was a very good team effort and a new experience . I think that worked pretty well ”.
Diener comments that his team found very different levels of acceptance across the many different industries served by their fairs .
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Right : Wolfram Diener , CEO , The Messe Düsseldorf
Below : The show floor is still the place to see and be seen , says Diener
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The medical sector , for which it organises Medica in Düsseldorf and in a number of countries around the world , is driven by technology and has been much quicker to accept digital approaches than some others . But , this is a ‘ content-rich ’ environment and one which probably lends itself well to digital formats . Diener doesn ’ t believe that the digital events have really usefully replicated the trade show floor . “ As an exhibitor in a physical show ,” he says , “ you ’ re sitting there and you see what happens , you can observe what happens around you , you see people passing by you , exchange a smile and you hear the noise around you . But , when you exhibit in a virtual showroom , you are sitting in a black box . You cannot hear anything that happens around you , and you are waiting there for someone to knock the door and come in .”
Diener is not , however , in digital denial and sees many opportunities for reaching out to customers and potential customers who , for one reason or another , are not at a physical show . Freed from the time constraints of the traditional fair , which is particularly significant with some of his events taking place on a once in four years cycle , he says , “ you can first of all connect to people in a digital way . And then , of course , we would wish that the final goal is is to meet one day at the physical trade show ”.
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